Reading reflection 7

 

Mercy

Jodi Picoult

Read Pages 1-59

 

                While I have read many Jodi Picoult books before I have never really liked her writing style. To me it seems like she has an idea and writes it without much research, this book however is different. I find that she goes into just the right amount of detail about the past of the clan and why they are essentially trapped in Wheelock. It gives the book a whole other dimension that I’m sure will come into play when the “twist” starts to occur.

                A few predictions I had while reading the book were that for one the past of the clan will come into play in a big way. I’m not too sure how she is going to do it but I think that Uncle Angus is on to something saying that Cam’s Great Great Great Grandfather is not happy. A second prediction that I made is that Cam and Mia will have an affair. Although Cam says he loves his wife it doesn’t seem like he does. I feel like he just says it because it is another one of his obligations. I think he is attracted to Mia because she is a world traveler and that is something that he aspires to be.

                A huge question that came up for me was near the end of my reading Mia and Cam had officially met, Cam asks her “Do I know you?” and she thinks back “Yes, I think maybe you do.”. There are so many possibilities here as to why they might know each other. The first might be that History repeats itself and this potential affair could be mirroring events that happened in the past. A second is that Mia is involved with the murder. It is a little suspicious to me that she showed up to Wheelock the day of this huge and unusual crime, maybe she is not as innocent as she seems.

                A connection that I made while reading was a text to world connection. This being about the idea of assisted suicide. My mom told me about a case where a mother went to jail for killing her two sons who were suffering from Huntington’s, her sons were suffering so badly that she could not stand to watch without doing anything so she killed them. I know people have their own opinions on things like assisted suicide however I think that Jamie did the right thing. There is no point to living in pain when there is no hope of recovery; I think it is better to die with dignity than losing your mind slowly after being trapped in a body that is shutting down. I think that a letter from his wife saying that she consented to the whole thing would have made the situation easier but at the same time I can appreciate the reason they didn’t have one.